Amazon Appears Poised to Crush Blue Apron

The Blue Apron logo appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. The meal kit company tumbled after reports that Amazon was getting ready to launch its own meal-prep... (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

(Newser)
–
Fresh off putting a scare into grocery stores with news it was attempting to acquire Whole Foods, Amazon is now doing the same in the meal-kit delivery sector. Quartz reports Blue Apron went public June 28—the first meal-kit company to do so. Less than a month later, it appears on the verge of being crushed by Amazon. The online behemoth started selling its own delivered meal kits Tuesday and had already sold out five of the 19 options by Tuesday morning, according to Business Insider. Amazon is selling other brands of meal kits through Amazon Fresh and its own brand of meal kits to Amazon Prime subscribers.

With Amazon pushing into its territory—first revealed through Amazon registering a trademark for "We do the prep. You be the chef"—Blue Apron stock hit an all-time low Monday, CNBC reports. An expert says that while Blue Apron had a "neat concept," it won't be able to compete at the same level as Amazon "to be successful long term." Blue Apron requires a subscription, but anyone can get meal kits through Amazon Fresh. And for those that want the Amazon-brand kits, there are already more than 80 million Prime members in the US. Meanwhile, Blue Apron has to dedicate much of its revenue toward marketing, which isn't a concern for Amazon. (Read more Amazon stories.)